BOYS’ MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS
[Illustration]
BOYS’
MAKE-AT-HOME
THINGS
BY
CAROLYN SHERWIN BAILEY
AND
MARIAN ELIZABETH BAILEY
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND DIAGRAMS
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
_Copyright, 1912, by_
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
_All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign
languages, including the Scandinavian_
[Illustration: _September, 1912_]
PREFACE
Make-At-Home-Things for Boys aims to keep boys busy and entertained.
It furnishes them with simple directions for making toys and useful
articles, all of which are carefully pictured. The aim of the book,
is to give boys an idea of the craft possibilities which lie in the
crudest materials, often the waste material of the home and in this way
to develop real artistic ability.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE v
THE MAKING OF TOOLS NECESSARY FOR WHITTLING 1
HOW TO MAKE A PRACTICAL WORK BENCH 7
WORK BENCH ACCESSORIES 15
HOW TO MAKE A TURNING LATHE 21
HOW TO MAKE A TOY TRAIN 29
OUT-DOOR TOYS 37
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DESK SET 45
WILD ANIMALS YOU CAN MAKE 53
HOW TO MAKE A SET OF MISSION FURNITURE 59
TOYS THAT HIDE IN THE WOOD BOX 65
THE WONDERFUL DODO BIRD 75
A FLEET OF TOY BOATS 83
HOW TO MAKE A PLAY TENT 89
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TOPS 95
THE FARM THE SCISSORS BUILT 101
MORE BOX PLAYS 107
A RECIPE FOR A NOAH’S ARK 113
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN UNIFORM 117
JOINTED TOY ANIMALS. HOW TO MAKE THEM 123
YOUR OWN CIRCUS 129
BEAD WORK FOR BOYS 135
HOW TO MAKE STICK PICTURES 143
A TOY INDIAN VILLAGE 149
CORN TOYS AND HOW TO MAKE THEM 155
HOW TO MAKE A MARBLE BAG 159
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN SCHOOL BOX 165
A HOME-MADE CHRISTMAS TREE STAND 171
HOW TO WRAP CHRISTMAS PARCELS 177
YOUR OWN WIRELESS RECEIVING STATION 183
ILLUSTRATIONS
Whittled Toy Train _Frontispiece_
FACING PAGE
Knife-strop 6
Whittled Weather Vane; Kite Stick; “Cat”; Reel
for Fish Line; “Cat” Stick 38
File; Ink Well; Pen Tray 46
Book Rack 50
Whittled Wild Animals: Giraffe, Camel 54
Whittled Wild Animals: Bear, Lion, “Darwin” 56
Dolls’ Chair and Table Whittled in Mission Style 60
Dolls’ Whittled Chest of Drawers; Dolls’ Whittled
Bed 64
Toy Barnyard Made of Kindling Wood 68
A Set of Dolls’ Furniture Made by Gluing Together
Blocks of Kindling Wood 74
The Dodo Bird 80
A Cork Raft; A Cork Sail Boat 84
Whittled Toy Sail Boat 88
Whittled Clown Top 96
Beet Top; Top Made of Graduated Disks; Button
Mold Top 98
Cart, Barn and Barrow Made of Cardboard Boxes 104
Circus Parade (The Cage is Made of a Shoe Box) 108
The Ark; Cardboard Animals Who Live in the Ark 112
Going Aboard the Ark 114
Pattern for Soldier’s Cap; The Finished Uniform:
Cap, Shield, Sword and Epaulets 120
Jointed Cardboard Animals 126
A Bead Loom Made of a Box Cover 140
Stick Illustration of the Story of The Three Bears 146
Corn Cob Pappoose; Corn Cob Indian 158
Whittled School Box; Chamois Marble Bag 164
BOYS’ MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS
BOYS’ MAKE-AT-HOME THINGS
THE MAKING OF TOOLS NECESSARY FOR WHITTLING
The tools which one will need for whittling--the kind of whittling that
makes something besides splinters--are very simple and few in number.
Any boy’s pocket will furnish a jack-knife, and it is pretty sure to be
a sharp one.
With a knife, a pencil, and some pieces of wood, all the other tools
may be made. Basswood is the easiest wood to handle because it is soft,
and very close grained. If basswood can not be had, pine is the next
best wood, and an old egg crate, which any grocer will be glad to get
rid of, will furnish you with enough whittling material for a long time.
The scale for measuring (Fig. 3) should be made first, as it is the
tool most necessary in laying out the other tools. One of the thin
strips from the side of the egg crate may be used for this. The
outline of the scale must be drawn on the wood with a hard pencil. A “6
H” is the best. The “H” means “hard,” and the number of H’s shows the
degree of hardness. The pencil should be sharpened on both ends--one
end rubbed to a fine point on sandpaper, and the other end to a chisel
point. The sharp point is to mark, accurately, the points to which
lines are to be drawn, and the chisel point is to draw the lines with.
After the outline is drawn it may be cut.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
First take off a splinter or two to determine the direction of the
grain, because one long cut against the grain might spoil your work.
When this is determined, you should cut down _almost_ to the outline,
using a long, free stroke from the shoulder for the cutting in the
direction of the grain. For the cross-grained cutting at the ends, the
knife is held in the four fingers, with the thumb steadying the near
side of the wood, and the cut is made toward the thumb. Only a very
short cut may be made at a time, and then a bit of wood is clipped
away so that the next cut may be made. This cutting, also, should be
done near, but not on, the line. After the model is roughly cut out,
it should be worked down very carefully to the lines, the beveled
edge cut, and then sandpapered smooth all over. The sandpaper must be
put over a small block of wood, and held very flat. Otherwise it will
spoil a straight surface. Then the graduations are to be put on. If
nothing better is at hand, the spacing may be done with mother’s tape
measure. Lay off the spaces with the pointed end of the pencil, and
then draw the lines which show the spacing, making those which show the
sixteenths, 1/16″ long; the eighths, 1/8″ long; the quarters, 3/16″
long; the halves, 5/16″, or the full width of the bevel. This must be
done with a pencil, for ink would run into the wood and spread. The
inch dimensions should be marked 1, 2, 3, etc., and a light coat of
shellac or varnish will add much to the durability of the scale. The
back edge of the scale may be used as a straight edge, and to lay the
pencil against for drawing lines, but it should be remembered that the
scale itself--that is, the graduated side--must never be used for
this. If it were, the graduations would soon be spoiled.
The tool which is most necessary next to the scale is the square (Fig.
4), and this should also be made with great accuracy. It is used to
test two adjoining edges, to see if they are square with each other.
In making anything of wood, one of the largest surfaces is generally
made perfectly true, and marked with a little cross (x), designating it
as the “face.” One of the adjoining edges--not a cross-grained one--is
also made true and square with the first surface, and marked with a
second cross, as the “working edge.” Then all the other measuring and
squaring is done from these two surfaces.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.]
The piece of wood to be tested should be held in the left hand, on a
level with the eye, and the square held in the right hand, with one of
the inner edges resting against the wood, and the other projecting over
it is moved back and forth. Any unevenness in the wood will readily be
seen. The outside edges of the square may also be used for testing the
evenness of wide flat surfaces. It is made like the pattern, of two
strips of wood, with a fitted joint glued together.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
The knife strop shown in Fig. 1 is a great help in whittling, because
it will keep your knife in good condition. A piece of the heavier wood
at the end of the egg crate may be used for this. It is made from a
strip measuring 1-1/2″ wide by 11″ long, and the strip of leather (cut
from a discarded razor strop) is glued on. The 1/8″ bevel is continued
all the way around the handle on both sides to make it fit the hand.
The hole in the end is to hang it up by, and may be made with a hammer
and nail, or with a bit and brace if you have one.
The pencil sharpener (Fig. 2), is also a very necessary help in
whittling and it is very simple to make. A strip of thin wood 1-1/4″x7″
forms the foundation. This is narrowed down at the handle end to 3/4″.
The curves may be marked on the outline, free hand, and in cutting you
must be very careful to remember the grain of the wood. The curves at
the ends should be cut from each side toward the middle of the end,
gradually working into a cross-cut. The curves at the sides must be cut
from the wider part toward the handle, using the point of the knife,
and working with great care so as not to split the wood. A strip of
sandpaper 1″x3″ is glued on and the sharpener is complete.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
With these tools finished a boy is ready to begin some real whittling,
and make other models which will be quite as useful, and very much more
attractive.
[Illustration: KNIFE-STROP]
HOW TO MAKE A PRACTICAL WORKBENCH
A good practical workbench may be made by any boy who can handle the
simplest tools and procure a little suitable lumber.
The lumber should be bought at a lumber yard, in the rough, which will
cost a great deal less than finished boards.
It will require 26 ft. of two-by-four pine boards, 12 ft. of
two-by-six’s, and 23 ft. of one-by-six’s. The two-by-four’s cost one
and three-quarters cents a running foot, the two-by-six’s are two and
a half cents, and the one-by-six’s, one and a half cents. The boards
come in regular lengths, from ten feet up to sixteen, or in some cases,
up to twenty-four feet long. It will be best to get a twenty-four foot
one-by-six board if possible, a twelve foot two-by-six, one twelve foot
and one fourteen foot two-by-four. This will make the total cost for
boards one dollar and twelve cents.
Aside from the pine boards for the bench itself it will require a piece
of oak measuring three by four inches and thirty-four inches long, for
the bench vise; a screw and handle for the vise (costing thirty-five
cents at any hardware store); a pound of four inch nails; and two
square headed iron bolts, one half inch in diameter and four inches
long, each fitted with two iron washers and one square nut.
Saw off, first, from the twelve foot two-by-four, four pieces
thirty-three inches long. These are the legs of the bench, and they are
to stand with their broad four-inch faces toward the ends of the bench.
Then cut in each one of these joints like those shown in Fig. 1. The
sides in which the joints are cut face toward each other at the ends of
the bench and into them is fitted the supporting framework.
For the lower framework cut from the fourteen foot two-by-four two
pieces forty-two inches long and four pieces nineteen inches long. Two
of the nineteen-inch pieces are to be left as they are, but the other
two and the two forty-two inch pieces should have joints cut at the
ends like Fig. 2. These joints, as well as the joints in the uprights,
are cut with a saw, and the wood is split out with a chisel. Then these
four jointed pieces are fitted together and glued or nailed to form
a framework nineteen by forty-two inches. The four uprights are then
fitted in place and nailed, increasing the width of the ends to
twenty-three inches. Then the other two nineteen-inch pieces are fitted
into the top of the uprights across each end, and nailed in place. Four
braces (Fig. 3) for the ends are made from two sixteen-inch pieces of
the one-by-six stock. Each piece is first cut in two, lengthwise, with
a rip saw. This makes four pieces twenty inches long by three inches
wide. Mark the center joint of each end of each piece. Then measure on
both sides, from each end, a distance of one and a half inches. Connect
these points with the end points by a line and saw off the corners,
leaving on each end a right-angled point. The braces are then nailed in
place as shown in Fig. 4.
[Illustration: Diagrams of a Practical Work-bench.]
[Illustration: Diagrams of a Practical Work-bench.]
This finishes the body part of the bench. Next, cut from the one-by-six
board a piece fifty-six inches long. Fit it across the front of the
frame, just even, or flush with the top, and projecting seven inches
beyond the uprights at either end. Then nail in position.
Cut from the twelve foot two-by-six board two pieces fifty-six inches
long. Place one of them across the top of the bench at the extreme
front, so that it is flush with the wide surface of the front board.
Nail this to the end framework and nail the second piece in position
just back of it.
It is necessary for this much of the top to be very heavy, for this is
where the heavy strain of the work will come. The remainder of the top
is made of two strips of one-by-six wood. In order to make this even
with the two front strips which are thicker it is necessary to put
pieces underneath it at each end. For these cut a piece of one-by-six
board twelve inches long and rip it in two. Place these strips along
the end frame, then place the top boards on them and nail all in
position. When this is done the whole top of the bench may be made
partially smooth, if it is desired, with a jack plane. Then cut one
more strip of one-by-six fifty-six inches long and nail across the back
of the bench, allowing it to project three inches above the top.
The vise, as it comes from the store, consists of a long, straight,
square-headed screw about an inch in diameter, which ends in a round
iron plate and a T-shaped pipe. The plate is loose but not removable.
Through the T a long wooden handle fits. Beside this there is an
elliptical plate holding a threaded pipe which the screw works in. To
put it together, first make a piece from the remaining two-by-six like
Fig. 5. This piece forms the inner side of the vise and fits _inside_
of the front piece of the bench, just touching the under side of the
top, and _outside_ of the lower framework. Its edge should be four
inches in from the front leg of the bench. Corresponding holes are made
with a bit and brace in the front piece of the bench and counter-sunk
a half inch. The two pieces are then bolted together, the heads of
the bolts and the iron washer fitting down in the counter-sink, and
the other washer being placed under the nut on the other side. The
receptacle for the vise screw is fastened in position through the back
of Fig. 5.
Next, the piece of oak is prepared for the vise jaw. It is slanted
off at the ends like Fig. 6, the outer edges rounded, a hole somewhat
larger than the vise screw cut through as shown, and a joint cut
through with chisel and hammer near the bottom. Into this joint fit
Fig. 7, a piece of wood one by four inches and twelve inches long,
which is intended to keep the jaws of the vise approximately even.
It fits into the oak with a drive fit and has holes zigzagged or
“staggered” across it into which a round peg three inches fits. By
placing this peg in different holes the bottom opening of the vise may
be adjusted to correspond with the desired top opening.
The long screw of the vise is slipped through the hole made for it, and
the plate is screwed in place.
[Illustration: _Work Bench Complete._]
This completes a bench which will prove a great help to the boy
workman, and which takes scarcely more time in making than it has in
describing.
WORKBENCH ACCESSORIES
When you have made yourself this fine, big workbench you will find out
very soon that there are a number of workbench accessories which will
make it much more convenient and desirable.
The first thing that will be missed is a tool rack. With tools
scattered all over the bench it is difficult to do good work. It means
a waste of time and sometimes a waste of temper, while, if the tools
are hanging right before one’s eyes in an orderly row, each one may be
taken as it is needed, and replaced again when one is through, and the
work will go on smoothly.
A single pine board six inches wide, one inch thick and sixteen feet
long will make all the accessories one can want. It is better to
procure a finished board from the planing mill. It will cost three or
four cents a running foot--a total cost at the most of sixty-four cents.
For the tool rack cut from the board two fifty-six-inch lengths. Cut
one of these in two lengthwise with a rip saw and plane the sawed edge
smooth and square with the face or wide, flat side of the board. With
a pencil and scale mark the positions on the centers of the holes shown
in Fig. 1. Then when the centers have been determined, drill them
according to the sizes indicated, with a bit and brace. The first three
holes at the left are to hold bits; the next two, chisel and gouge, and
the others are for screw-drivers. These latter four, after the holes
are drilled, are made open clear to the edge of the rack by sawing out
a section from the front. This makes it possible to take the tools out
without lifting them entirely out of the rack. From the right-hand end
mark off a distance of twelve inches. Then, from the end to this line,
cut two grooves as shown in the drawing. The forward one is rounded
out with a gouge to hold a pencil while the back one is square and
flat, cut with a chisel, to hold either a twelve-inch scale or a folded
two-foot rule. In the front edge of this piece, about six inches from
the right-hand end is driven a nail to hold the claw hammer.
[Illustration: Diagrams of Work-bench Accessories.]
The fifty-six-inch length which was not ripped in two is fitted at
right angles to the back of this rack, lapping over the edge and flush
with the top. It is nailed in position and two supporting brackets like
Fig. 2 are fitted under each end of the rack for strength. When this
is all fastened together, the whole rack is set up on top of the back
pieces of the workbench and held in place by two cleats, three inches
by eight which are screwed to both the back piece of the bench and the
back piece of the rack.
Underneath the holes for the bits there should be two nails to hold the
brace. The jack plane, block plane, and spoke shave may stand on the
bench underneath the rack, and screws or nails at the end of the bench
will hold rip saw, cross-cut saw, and dust brush.
Next in usefulness is the bench block shown in Fig. 3. For this cut one
piece of wood six inches by eleven, and two pieces, six inches by two
inches. All these pieces must have the grain running in the longest
direction. When these are trued up, fit them together as shown, and
fasten with one-and-three-quarter-inch wood screws. After completing
this the corners are cut off. The block fits over the front edge of the
bench near the right-hand end and forms a brace when one wants to hold
a piece of wood steady for sawing.
Next comes the bench stop, Fig. 4. When one is planing a wide, flat
board the vise is useless. So holes are drilled in pairs in the top
of the bench itself, and these bench stops are slipped in to form a
buffer. A little piece of wood one by one by two is used, the grain of
course running the long way. For half of the distance the stop remains
square, while the other inch is rounded with a chisel to fit into the
hole, which should be slightly more than an inch deep. Two of these
stops will be needed.
Every workbench needs a nail box. A good one may be made from two
pieces three inches wide by fourteen inches long, which form the sides,
two ends three inches by three, and a bottom piece five inches by
fourteen. The side pieces are nailed to the end pieces, fitting over
them, and the bottom fits over all. This makes the inside measurements
three inches by twelve. Of course it is desirable to keep the different
sizes of nails separate, so this is divided into as many compartments
as are desired by partitions. These can be made from any old piece of
wood about a half inch thick. They measure three by three inches and
may be spaced however you like, except the one which is shown in Fig.
5. This is to be placed in the middle and forms a handle as well as
a partition. Just as convenient, though not quite as necessary, is a
miter box. It consists of two side pieces five inches by twelve, and
one bottom piece four inches by twelve. The side pieces fit down over
the edges of the bottom piece and are nailed fast. There are no ends.
When this much is done, take a forty-five degree triangle, and mark
across the two top edges one perpendicular line, and one forty-five
degree line in each direction, making them so that they do not overlap.
Then saw straight down from these lines to the bottom piece. A miter
box will prove itself a great convenience in sawing the corners of
molding or anything which requires a fitted corner. The piece to be
sawed is held firmly in the box and the saw guided through the slots.
When a boy has made the bench and all these accessories, and has some
tools, he will be equipped for big practical work.
HOW TO MAKE A TURNING LATHE
Most boys have a speaking acquaintance with a turning lathe. Some
boys know how to use one with good results. But to use one and own it
too--that is a joy which few boys experience.
After all, though, a lathe is not such a formidable machine, and if a
boy is quick at catching an idea and working it out he can make one for
himself.
Most of the material can be procured from some machine shop at
practically no cost, and the parts that have to be bought outright will
cost very little.
The foundation may be an old sewing-machine stand and the lathe is run,
just as a sewing machine is, by foot power. In almost any junk shop or
second hand shop you will find an old out-of-date sewing machine for
sale. New machines can be bought so cheaply nowadays that a second hand
one costs next to nothing.
When you have procured this you must take it to pieces. The wooden top
part is fastened to the iron frame by screws from underneath. Take
these out, and the top and drawer at the sides may be lifted right off.
Then take out the screw at the right hand side of the machine part and
slip off the upper belt wheel. This upper belt wheel, the belt, the
lower belt wheel, and the iron framework of the machine are all that
will be needed for the lathe, and the rest you may discard, or put
away in the “handy” pile for some future construction. The lower belt
wheel is of course fastened to the frame, so that does not need to be
disturbed.
Next get a piece of hickory or some other hard wood twelve inches wide,
three feet long and one-and-one-half inches thick. Cut a long, narrow
slot in this from one end as is shown in Fig. 1. Then fasten this piece
to the top of the iron frame with the same screws that fastened the top
of the machine on before. The solid end of the wood should project two
inches beyond the right-hand end of the frame where the belt is, and
the slotted end will of course extend somewhat beyond the frame at the
left. This is what is called the “bed” of the lathe. Now bore the two
holes which the belt goes through.
When this is done, measure the hole in the center of the upper belt
wheel, where the shaft went through. It will probably be one half inch
in diameter. Then get a piece of gas pipe twelve inches long and of the
same diameter, outside measurement, as the hole, so that the wheel may
be put on it with a “drive fit.” This simply means that the wheel fits
so tightly that it must be driven on and, once on, it will not turn. It
should be driven on far enough so that when the groove for the belt is
in line with the groove on the lower belt wheel, the pipe will project
the half inch beyond the solid end of the bed.
Now you must make two supports, or “head blocks” for this. Cut from
two-inch-thick hard wood two pieces like Fig. 2. The square hole is
for the gas pipe to go through and must have a bearing fitted into it.
Of course it would be easier to cut just a round hole slightly larger
than the pipe for it to turn in, but this bearing, with much turning,
would wear loose. So a one-inch square hole is cut; the gas pipe, with
a piece of newspaper wrapped around it, is held in the exact center of
the hole, the head block standing upright; and melted Babbitt metal is
poured down through the hole in the top of the block. To do this pieces
of cardboard should be fitted over the pipe and tacked to either side
of the block, so that the space inside is like a mold. The metal
which remains in the top hole forms a key to hold it. The Babbitt metal
may be bought at a hardware store in small bars and melted in a kettle
in the fire. It hardens quickly and when hard, the pipe may be removed,
the paper taken off and you will have a permanent, durable bearing.
[Illustration: Diagrams of a Turning Lathe.]
Slip one of these head blocks on the pipe from each end, with an iron
washer on each side of each block. The right hand block should be
“flush” with the end of the bed, the pipe projecting a half inch beyond
it. The other block should be spaced two inches back from the ends of
the slot in the bed. The blocks are fastened to the bed with long wood
screws which come up through the bed from underneath, and they are held
in position on the gas pipe by making “prick punch” holes through the
pipe close to the washers and using either “cotter pins” or bent wire
through these. Then the end of the pipe, which projects over the slot
should be filed so that it has four points, or teeth. This completes
the head of the lathe, and is much the most complicated part.
The rest of the lathe consists of a “tail block” and a tool rest,
both of which are adjustable to any position desired. Fig. 3 shows
the tail block. Like the head blocks, it is made of two-inch thick
stock. The bottom of it is cut to slide back and forth in the slot.
Just underneath it, on the under side of the bed, is a piece of wood
four inches by two inches and one-inch thick which is fastened to the
tail block by a screw through the center and which clamps the block
in position at any required distance. At the point marked “P” a “lag”
screw, which is simply a wood screw with a sharp point and a large flat
head, is screwed through the block. The piece of wood to be turned is
held in place by this lag screw and the filed teeth on the gas pipe.
The pieces of the tool rest are shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. Fig. 6
shows it as it looks when it is put together in place on the bed of the
lathe.
Fig. 4 shows the tool rest itself--that is, the part upon which the
chisel or gouge is steadied for cutting. This is fastened upright
upon the end of Fig. 5, which is a standard which extends across
the bed and is clamped in place, as the tail block is, to a block
underneath, except that, instead of being screwed, it is fastened with
a three-eighth inch bolt and nut.
Fig. 7 shows the whole lathe “assembled,” or put together with each
part marked according to its figure numbers so that you can see just
how it goes.
[Illustration: Fig. 7]
All the material it has required has been:
One old sewing machine.
About fifty cents’ worth of hard wood.
One three-inch lag screw.
One three-eighths-inch bolt five inches long, with nut and washer.
Four iron washers for gas pipe.
One foot of gas pipe.
Seven three-inch wood screws.
A few cents’ worth of Babbitt metal.
The result is a good practical lathe on which anything up to eight
inches in diameter and twenty-one inches long may be turned; and I
think you’ll all agree that it was well worth the making.
HOW TO MAKE A TOY TRAIN
Clear the track there! Push the crib over in the corner. Pick up those
blocks. Shove the doll’s house and blackboard out of the way. Hurry and
put the old red candy lantern out of sight. We don’t want any danger
signals here. The Twentieth Century Limited--the Fast Special of the
play room--is coming.
The construction of the Twentieth Century Limited follows close upon
_the making of whittling tools_. A little train it is, just an engine,
coal car, baggage car, and one passenger coach, but of course there
may be any number of additional cars coupled on, provided the train
proves popular and the nursery traffic is heavy. The train is made
from cigar boxes. The floor of the engine is made from a flat piece of
wood, two inches wide by four and one-half inches long, cut perfectly
true and then pointed at one end (Fig. 1). Then the cab is made. Fig. 2
shows the front of it--a piece of wood measuring two inches by one and
three-quarters, and having two little holes three-eighths of an inch
square cut for windows. The side pieces are an inch and a quarter by
two inches, cut in the shape of Fig. 3, and each has one little window.
The roof is an oblong piece two inches by one and a half. When the
whole cab has been nailed together, it is placed in position on the
floor of the engine, about a quarter of an inch from the rear end, and
nailed there. For the boiler you can use one of mother’s basting thread
spools. Chip off the ends, making them even with the part where the
thread was wound, and then nail it to the floor from underneath. A spot
on the upper side of the boiler is smoothed off, and a tiny spool is
glued on for a smoke stack. The forward wheels are made from circular
pieces an inch in diameter, and the “drivers” from pieces an inch and
a half in diameter. Then there are bearings for the wheels, like Fig.
4, those for the smaller wheels being an inch long, and those for the
larger wheels three-quarters of an inch in length. They are glued to
each side of the floor piece and the axles, made from lollypop sticks,
are slipped through. These are cut three inches long, which allows
plenty of room for the wheels to turn, and for a little nail to be put
through like a cotter pin, to hold them on.
[Illustration: Diagrams of a Toy Train.]
[Illustration: Diagrams of a Toy Train.]
The coal car floor measures two inches square, the sides two inches
by one, and the ends one and three-quarters by one. These are nailed
together to form a little box, and four wheels and bearings like the
forward ones on the engine are made. The couplings are made from
little round brass hooks, the one on the forward end of each car being
horizontal, and the one in the rear end perpendicular.
The baggage car is a triumph of whittling, for it has a door that
will slide back and forth just like a real one. The bottom and top of
the car are oblong pieces of wood two inches by four and a half, and
the end pieces measure two by two and a quarter inches. The sides are
made like Fig. 5, with an opening an inch and a quarter square for a
doorway. On the inside of the side pieces, extending to within a half
inch of each end, and starting about an eighth of an inch from the top
a groove is cut, the depth of the groove being about a quarter of an
inch. The door itself is one and thirteen-sixteenths inches high by two
inches wide, and has two very small, flat-headed, wood screws, screwed
in near the top at an angle, so that the heads rest in this groove, and
slide back and forth. Above the door is a strip of wood an eighth of
an inch wide, and outside of this another strip a quarter of an inch
wide, both of which are nailed in position, and keep the door from
slipping out of the groove. Another screw forms a handle for the door,
and when the car is put together it is not at all apparent how the door
slides. Fig. 6 is a section cut through the side, above the doorway,
and shows the groove and how the strips are put on.
For the passenger car the floor is made first--like Fig. 7--the
car floor itself measuring two inches by four and one-half, with a
projection one inch by five-eighths at each end for a platform. The
sides of the car (Fig. 8), are two inches by four and a half, with
three holes one inch wide by three-quarters high for Pullman windows.
The ends of the car are like Fig. 9. They are slipped over the
platforms, the space one and one quarter inch by a half inch forming
a doorway and the lower ends extending below the platform to form the
side of the steps. The end of the platform is a piece measuring one
inch by two inches, and is nailed in position so that the lower edge of
it is even with the lower edge of the side pieces, the remainder of it
extending above the platform for a railing. There are two steps on each
side at each end--eight steps in all. The bottom ones measure a quarter
of an inch wide and three-quarters of an inch long, while the upper
ones are the same width, but only a half inch long, for they have to
fit in between the ends of the car, and the ends of the platform. The
roof of the car is like Fig. 10--a piece two inches by six and one-half
inches with rounded ends, extending well over the platforms. Both the
passenger and baggage cars have wheels exactly like the coal car. When
these are done the train is coupled, and away she speeds. “Clear
the track there! The Twentieth Century Limited is just pulling into
Chicago, and she has made the trip from New York in eighteen hours.”
OUT-DOOR TOYS
This set of whittled outdoor toys ought to please almost any boy. With
kite and fish line time coming soon and the wind blowing a gale for
your weather vane, and the other fellows out ready to play “cat”--well,
let’s see how to make all these toys.
The kite stick in Fig. 1 is made from a piece of pine wood eight inches
long, and, roughly cut out, about three-quarters of an inch square.
This is smoothed down to five-eighths of an inch, and then you start
in to make it round. First the four corners of the square are trimmed
off evenly for the full length, making it an eight-sided stick, and
then these corners are again trimmed, until finally the stick is round
enough to be sandpapered smooth. It is better to draw a five-eighth
inch circle on each end of the stick before you trim it down, so that
you can see whether you are making a true round. When the line for the
bevel is marked around one-eighth of an inch from the ends, the bevel
is cut, the notch is cut around the middle, and the stick is ready to
tie your kite string to.
For the reel in Fig. 2 and also the weather vane in Fig. 7, it is
better to select a piece of wood which is already “dressed”--that
is, finished smooth to the thickness you require, because it is hard
to make a broad surface true with a jack knife. Cigar boxes are
three-sixteenths of an inch thick, and a piece of one will make a
good, stout reel. In making all of these toys, the pattern should be
drawn on the wood as far as possible with pencil, scale, and straight
edge, before any cutting is done. The reel should be cut first into
an oblong, two and a quarter inches by four and a quarter, then the
corners are rounded so that the line will not catch on them, and lastly
the “recessed edge” where the line is to be wound is made, cutting from
each end of the opening toward the center, and gradually working it
down even.
[Illustration: (A) WHITTLED WEATHER VANE. (B) KITE STICK; “CAT”; REEL
FOR FISH LINE. (C) “CAT” STICK.]
[Illustration: Diagrams of a Kite Stick, Reel, “Cat,” “Cat” Stick, and
Weather Vane.]
[Illustration: Diagrams of a Weather Vane.]
There are not many boys who don’t know how to play “cat.” It requires
a good deal of skill, and if you don’t break anybody’s window or put
out anybody’s eye, it’s a lot of fun. It requires two boys to play this
game. You lay the cat down flat--as in Fig. 3--and, with the stick
(Fig. 4), held by the octagonal end, hit the cat sharply on one
end, and as it flies up bat it forward. It is up to the other fellow
to catch it, and if he does, it counts you out, and gives him a turn.
But if he doesn’t catch it, you measure with the stick, end over end
from where you stand to where the cat has fallen, and that counts so
many points for you. Then the other fellow has another chance to count
you out by throwing the cat from where it fell and trying to hit your
stick. If it falls short or goes beyond, you again measure the distance
with your stick, and that too counts in your favor.
The cat is made from a piece of pine four inches long and an inch
square. The center section is marked off and then a line is drawn
exactly across the middle of each end--not diagonally, but straight
up and down. The sides are slanted down to this line, like a wedge,
and then the other two sides are slanted to the middle point at each
end. The wood for the stick is twelve inches long and five-eighths of
an inch square, and is worked down just as the kite stick was, except
that the handle is left eight sided, while the rest is made round. The
octagon and circle which are shown with parallel diagonal lines on them
are “cross sections” and show what the stick would look like if it
were cut straight through at that point.
The weather vane is the hardest toy to make. Fig. 5 shows three
views of one piece of the wheel--a top view, a front view, and an
end view,--just as though you looked at the piece in front and then
squarely at the top, and then turned it around and looked at the end.
A piece of wood three-quarters of an inch square by five inches long
is used for this, and two of them are made and fitted together--making
a wheel with four arms. It is better to cut the section for the joint
first, for the wood is less apt to split before it has been weakened
by any other cutting. This is a similar cutting to that in the reel,
except that the grain lies in the opposite direction, and the cutting
should be done from the center of the opening toward each end. Then
opposite corners are slanted down so that the ends of the arms are thin
and aslant to catch the wind, as the end view shows. The dotted lines
are the edges which are not visible. After the two pieces are fitted
together a two-inch nail is driven through both and into the end of
Fig. 6, which is not beveled. It should be turned around until it works
loosely and will turn easily in the wind.
The stick in Fig. 6 is seven and three-eighths inches long by a half
inch square. After the section three-quarters of an inch long, where
the nail hole is shown, and which remains square, is marked off, the
rest of the stick is made eight sided. Then the eight-inch bevel shown
on the end is cut, and, for a distance of two and a half inches from
that end, a V-shaped groove is cut on two opposite sides. This end of
the stick is to slide into the opening in the end of the wing (Fig. 7).
Another two-inch nail joins this piece to the upright stick (Fig. 8)
and forms a pivot for it to swing around on. The wing is a flat piece
six and a half inches long by two and a half wide. The curves are laid
out with a compass (R. in the measurements denotes radius) and the
2-1/2″-opening is made as shown in one end. The little cross-section
shows how it is cut to a pointed edge which slides into the groove in
Fig. 6.
The upright stick is nine inches long by three-quarters of an inch
square, and is worked down similarly to the other sticks, except that
the end which is round is tapered from three-quarters to one-half inch.
The “break” in the drawing simply means that it is longer than is
actually shown. When the windmill is fitted together and put out where
it will catch the wind, a boy will find that it was well worth making.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DESK SET
A desk set is a great addition to a boy’s desk. If he has a pen tray
he knows where his pencils and pens are to be found without rummaging
through a tangled mess of top strings and marble bags and nails. If
he puts away on the bill file that _I Owe You_ that Billy Smith gave
him for a pair of rabbits, it won’t be all crumpled up and beyond
identification when Billy gets his next month’s allowance. When you
come to think of it, a desk set has a great many advantages--and then,
there’s the fun of making it.
The desk set which is shown in the picture comprises five pieces--an
ink well stand, a bill file, a pen tray, an envelope opener, and a book
rack. It is all, with the exception of the envelope opener, made of
one-eighth-inch basswood.
For the ink well stand (Fig. 1) use a piece of wood, four inches
square. The two-and-a-half-inch opening--which is the size of the
average glass ink well--should be cut first, before the corners are
weakened by cutting out the half-inch rounds. After this is done, cut
the corners, and last, the eight-inch bevel. Fig. 2 shows one of the
feet of the ink well. It is shown, by dotted lines, in position in
Fig. 1. The four feet are glued to the bottom of Fig. 1 and the inside
corners project inside the opening, making four half-inch squares on
which the ink well may rest. The feet are made from pieces of wood one
and seven-eighths inches square, cut in the shape shown, and ornamented
with a little design in “chip” carving. This chip carving is ordinarily
done with what is called a skew chisel--that is, a chisel which is not
square at the end, but which has one point an eighth of an inch or
more longer than the other, so that when it is put into the wood, one
end of the cut will be deep while the other is barely cut out at all.
However, it may be done with a jack knife, if you are very careful.
In the “motif” shown in Fig. 2, the points where the three lines from
adjoining corners meet are where the deepest part of the cuts should
be. This is done with the knife held point down and the thumb on the
end of the handle. Then, with the knife still in the same position in
the hand, you chip out the wood with a sliding cut toward you, slanting
it down to the depth of the cut. It is a little difficult to
describe this without seeing it done, but if you look at the patterns
and the photographs, and experiment a little on a piece of wood, you
will find it easy.
[Illustration: (A) FILE. (B) INK WELL. (C) PEN TRAY.]
[Illustration: Diagrams of an Ink Well Stand, a Bill File and a Pen
Tray.]
[Illustration: Diagrams of a Pen Tray, an Envelope Opener and a Book
Rack.]
Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 show the bill file. Fig. 3 is made from a three and
a quarter-inch square, cut similarly to the foot of the ink well, and
with the same motif carved on each corner. It should be remembered in
cutting the recessed edges that the sides running _with_ the grain must
be cut _from_ each end, and the cross-cut sides cut _toward_ each end.
Fig. 4 is cut like Fig. 1, except that there is no opening in it. It
is then glued to the top of Fig. 3, and a three-inch nail is driven up
through the center.
Fig. 5 shows one side of the pen tray. It is made from a piece of wood
nine inches long at the bottom, tapered to seven and three-eighths
inches at the top, and one and seven-eighth inches wide. The motif
for the carving is made by putting together two of the squares shown
in Fig. 2 and then repeating this again and again. It makes a very
pretty and effective decoration. Fig. 6 is one of the end pieces,
and is decorated in the same way. Fig. 7 is a cross-section showing
the construction of the pen tray. For this you should first make two
oblongs, seven and three-eighth inches long, one of them being one
and three-eighths, and the other, one and one-half inches wide. These
are fastened together at right angles, the long one topping over the
shorter, with tiny nails. Then a piece measuring two inches by one and
one-quarter is nailed to each end, to hold the tray firm. Next, the top
edge all around is beveled--the side edges, so that the sides (Fig. 5)
may be fitted on straight up and down, and the ends, at such an angle
that they will not interfere in putting on the end pieces (Fig. 6).
Then the sides and ends are glued in position, and the tray is finished.
For the envelope opener in Fig. 8, a piece of gumwood five and a half
inches long by a half inch square is used. For two and a half inches
from the end it is reduced to an octagonal shape. Then the notches
are cut, and the end of the handle--four sides only, not the entire
eight--beveled. Then the blade is cut, curving down from the handle,
and reducing the blade to an even thickness of an eighth of an inch.
When this is quite even the end is pointed, and the entire outside edge
of the blade is beveled down from both sides, to a cutting edge.
[Illustration: BOOK RACK]
The base of the book rack (Figs. 9 and 10), is made from two pieces of
wood measuring four inches by nine, which are cut as shown, to fit
and slide within each other. It measures thirteen inches, closed, and
sixteen inches, open. A good way to fasten the pieces together so that
they will slide easily and yet be firm, is with strips of thin sheet
brass, which can be bought very cheaply. A strip three-quarters of an
inch wide is passed around the rack at D with both pieces in position,
lapped and fastened to D. Another similar piece is passed around at C
and fastened to C. Then the ends (Fig. 11) are made. This requires two
pieces four inches wide by four and a half long, with the grain running
up and down. The top is made a little prettier by a semi-circular curve
and a reverse quarter circle at each side of it. The deep carving is
a trifle more elaborate than on the other things, and must be done
carefully where the cuts all meet at the bottom.
After measuring and finding the position of the points “a” and “b”
you should use these as centers from which to make the curves which
determine the outline of your design. The cutting is done exactly as
you did before. When these are finished they should be fastened on top
of the base, at either end, with little brass hinges on the inside. A
strip of wood four inches long by three-quarters of an inch wide is
placed at the lower edge of the end pieces, on the outside, for added
strength, and the screws fastening the hinges will hold it in place.
This completes the actual making of the desk set. It may be
sandpapered, or it may be varnished, or, if you are fortunate enough
to have a mission desk, it may be stained to match. In any case it is
worth having.
WILD ANIMALS YOU CAN MAKE
With a circus folder or animal book for a copy, a few old cigar boxes,
and a jack knife, a very lively and life-like menagerie can be made.
Cut the cigar boxes apart, and sandpaper the pieces very smooth.
Then take a pencil and sketch as well as you can the animals in the
pictures--at least the bodies of them, for the legs are to be attached
afterward, so that they can stand and “do things.”
The cutting must be done very, very carefully, for the outlines make
so many different angles with the grain of the wood. It is not in
the least like straight cutting with the grain, or even straight
cross-cutting, and the wood has an irritating habit of splitting off
some vital part of the animal’s anatomy.
It is impossible to make the tails out of wood, so they are made of
heavy string, glued in place. For the monkey, you can make a tail of
wire, so that he can swing by it.
[Illustration: Patterns of Hippo and Tiger.]
[Illustration: WHITTLED WILD ANIMALS
Giraffe, Camel]
[Illustration: Patterns of Monkey and Giraffe.]
[Illustration: Patterns of Bear and Lion.]
[Illustration: WHITTLED WILD ANIMALS
Bear, Lion, “Darwin”]
Make the legs of the animals separately and fasten them on to the
bodies with tiny nails. Place the two fore legs or two hind legs in
position on either side of the body piece, and drive through them a
short wire nail, a very little longer than is necessary to go through
the three thicknesses of wood. Then rest the head of the nail on a
piece of iron, and hammer the point, forming a little rivet to pivot
the legs. The feet must also be made separately, and fastened on in the
same way, so that, whatever position the legs are in, the feet will
remain level.
HOW TO MAKE A SET OF MISSION FURNITURE
A very attractive set of furniture suitable for a doll’s nursery,
may be whittled from pieces of old cigar boxes. It consists of four
pieces--a “Craftsman” bed, a chair, a table, and a chest of drawers.
For the head of the bed take a piece of wood four inches square, and,
placing it with the grain of the wood running up and down, mark it out
like Fig. 1. As a general rule, the grain of the wood should lie with
the longest dimension, but in all the upright pieces of this set it
must run up and down. Outline first the “recessed edge,” which forms
the legs of the bed, scoring it lightly with the point of the knife.
Then cutting a little bit out at a time, and working from the center
toward each end, bring it down to the line. The two openings, an eighth
of an inch by a half inch, for the joints, must be cut with the point
of the knife--the ends first, then the sides, and lastly the wood is
chipped out, and the opening is evened up. The foot of the bed is
identical with the head except that is three inches high instead of
four.
Next come the side pieces--two pieces seven inches long and one inch
wide, cut like Fig. 2. The half-inch ends slide through the openings
in the head and foot of the bed, and fasten with little wedge-shaped
pegs like Fig. 5. Inside each of these side pieces, and “flush” with
the bottom edge, glue a strip cut like Fig. 3, and fit in five little
slats three and three-eighths inches long by a half inch wide (Fig. 4).
Then, to complete it and make it look as much like a Craftsman bed as
possible, paste on the head a panel of light brown wrapping paper, on
which are four little conventional kittens, painted in Van Dyke brown.
The top of the table (Fig. 6) is a piece four inches square. The end
pieces (Fig. 7) are cut similarly to the head and foot of the bed,
with the same recessed edge and the same openings, varying only in the
outside dimensions. The sides too (Fig. 8), are similar to the sides
of the bed, except that they are of course, much shorter. Slip them
through the openings in the end pieces, fasten them with four little
pegs, glue the top on, and the table is done.
[Illustration: DOLLS’ CHAIR AND TABLE, WHITTLED IN MISSION STYLE]
[Illustration: Diagrams of a “Craftsman” Bed, a Table and a Chair.]
[Illustration: Diagrams of a Chair and a Chest of Drawers.]